The third annual Brooklyn Rock Lottery happened at Knitting Factory on Saturday (12/1). Musicians of varying styles and ages met at 10 AM and put their names in a hat and the five drummers picked their bandmates at random out of it. They then spent the day coming up with a name, writing original songs and practicing and made their stage debut that night. Proceeds from tickets and merch went to Hurricane Sandy relief. It was a lot of fun.

Even though the members were chosen at random, it seemed like the bands formed kind of naturally and had a cohesive sound. First up for the night was Jazz Karate, which featured Kenny Bernard (Ra Ra Riot), Franz Nicolay (ex Hold Steady / Against Me!), Pamela Martinez (Teletextile), Matt Singer, and Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket). With a harp and an accordion onstage, their music veered towards gypsy jazz and included a song about Tony Danza.

Next was Jeff Goldbloom whose members were Lua Rios (Gold Lake), Nick Sylvester (Mr. Dream), Noah Kardos-Fein (YVETTE), and Craig Lulada Pfunder (VHS or Beta). With a distinct sound -- heavy, shoegazy guitar epic-ry -- they were definitely the one group of the night that I'd actually want to see again. Good!

Then came the band I was most looking forward to, that had Yuck drummer Jonny Rogoff, Hospitality bassist Brian Betancourt, and Spanish Prisoners main man Leo Maymind, not to mention Dave Harrington from Nicholas Jaar's band and Gang Signs' Bryan Quackenbush. I was expecting melodic pop, but their name -- fish. -- shoulda been a giveaway. They played one 12-minute "jazz odyssey" type jam that showed just how good their collective musicianship was, but this has never been my thing.

Hardcore Lørd were next and it was almost entirely electronic, with tons of gear and lots of wires onstage. The band was Oliver Chapoy (Certain Creatures / ex Warm Ghost), Michael Sheffield (Sweet Bulbs / Heaven's Gate), Sara Lucas (Callers), and Christopher Puidokas (who toured with Blonde Redhead / The Silent Years). They took forever to set up but were probably my second favorite of the night, warm and ethereal.

The last band of the night was Nylon Guy and easily the most odds-n-sods, with Tyler Villard (Bezoar), Ian Young (touring saxophonist of M83), George Langford (Javelin), Jen Goma (People Get Ready / Sunny Day in Glasgow), and David Sheinkopf (The Subjects). No concessions were made to have a cohesive sound and everybody got to do their thing -- Villard doing a lot of hammer-on soloing, and Young smnoothing things out with his horn, and everyone else just kind of filling in the gaps. They did do a decent cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," though.

ANIMAL New York were there too and got straight-off-the-board recordings of everybody except Nylon Guy. Check out streams of the other bands, as well as more pics from Brooklyn Rock Lottery 3, below.

Milkwaukee's Protestant practice a brand of dark hardcore that is evident on their new 12" due Friday (9/21) via Halo of Flies. Reclamation isn't too far removed from the spirit of fellow Milwaukee rippers Enabler, both going for the jugular with crust-influenced hardcore that flirts heavily with melody but never quite loses its muscle. Stream all of Reclamation below for the first time, and you can buy a copy here.

Protestant are celebrating the release with a string of shows that include a stop on October 1 at Acheron with Gang Signs, Grudges and Brickeater. All other tour dates are listed below.

Hardcore/sludge/crust hybrid Gang Signs have been a go-to-NYC local as of late, and for good reason. The once duo with a Black-Cobra-like-tone have officially grown 50% bigger in personnel and infinitely thicker with the recent addition of Denis Bramley (ex-Atakke, current Trenchgrinder) on low-end. The band previously released a demo sans Bramley, but now you can stream their newest demo, with bassist included, below for the first time.

As previously mentioned, Gang Signs will play Saint Vitus TONIGHT (3/9) with Hate Eternal as well as the upcoming BV event with Morne, The Swan King, and Git Some on March 30th. Tickets for both Hate Eternaland Morne are still available.

In related news, Atakke have released their long-shelved LP to Bandcamp. Stream that below and head to their site to pick up a copy.

[Black Cobra is] a band of concision, pacing and respect for the ear and attention span, a bassless two-piece that plumps out its low end and whose epics last only six minutes or so... Whatever they do on their records, they can reproduce live, and slightly more vividly. They made loud music in a small room -- in fact, in this ideal dream of a small room -- sound as good as it can.

They blazed through every track of the new album and a few from the past ("Five Daggers," "Negative Reversal," "Chronosphere"), and finished with the same change-up that the end of "Invernal" brings. First "Abyss," slow and grooving, with swing and syncopation. Then "Obliteration," the set's shortest song, at what sounded like the fastest tempo they could responsibly manage. [NY Times]

After a string of dates with The Sword and Kyuss Lives! (that included shows at the Paramount Theater in Long Island and Wellmont Theater in NJ), Black Cobra kicked off a tour with Zoroaster and The Body on 12/11 at Saint Vitus with local favorites Gang Signs (who now include bassist Denis Bramley of Trenchgrinder amongst their ranks). Pictures from that Brooklyn show adorn this post.

Black Cobra continues its trek eastward after more dates in the Northeast tonight (in Allston, MA), concluding a few days before the holidays in their home-state of California. All dates and more pictures from Saint Vitus are below...

It was quick and to the point on Sunday night (10/23) with two bands at Acheron as part of a post-CMJ hangover party. Richmond's Balaclava headlined adn ripped through material from their latest LP Crimes of Faith (Forcefield/Southern Lord) on the relatively early night, touching on doom, d-beat, and crust in one-fell-unique swoop. Gang Signs supported the quartet, with the NYC duo playing a hybrid of crust, death metal and Black Cobra-style booming riffery. It was a hell of a way to cap off the weekend.

Ringworm is currently on the road with a helluva tour behind them, as Nails and New Lows are currently joining the Cleveland band on their road to 'This is Hardcore' fest in Philly. After This is Hardcore, Ringworm will link up with Victims, Kings Destroy, Gang Signs, and special guest NYHC tough guys Killing Time (!) to play Saint Vitus on August 13th. Tickets are on sale for this 21+ event.

Saint Vitus is one of a few dates scheduled for Swedish d-beat greats Victims, who will kick-off their US tour at the Brooklyn show. The band will tour the East Coast, logging dates at Best Friends Day and another NYC show on August 28th at Acheron. There the band will be joined by Defeatist, Grudges and DBCR as part of a closing to their US tour. The flyer for this all ages show is below. Victims released their latest LP A Dissidentearlier this year.

From Ashes Rise is also scheduled to play This is Hardcore, and will hit NYC for an 18+ show on August 15th at Public Assembly with Fuck The Facts, Full of Hell, and Night Birds (who have a new LP coming). From Ashes Rise have added another date, August 14th at The Barbary in Philadelphia, with Victims. All Victims and From Ashes Rise dates are below.

Ringworm and Nails played 924 Gilman on July 30th (Saturday) as part of that ongoing tour with New Lows. Pictures of Ringworm & Nails from 924 Gilman are below, alongside all tour dates and some video of Victims in action.